


Return to Me

by Sabrielwings (Frizzles)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Wings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-27
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2017-12-13 04:21:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/819909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frizzles/pseuds/Sabrielwings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The brothers are on a hunt when things get complicated. And by complicated, they mean having an unconscious and injured supposedly dead archangel interrupt their hunt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Frayed

**Author's Note:**

> I will update TF I swear but I wrote a few ideas at work and one was this.  
> No smut again, sorry but I'm a fluffy person and don't write that. x   
> Mostly just fluff and hurt.

“Dean!” Sam's shout split the tense silence of their latest hunt, bringing his brother running immediately. First his thoughts leapt to an easy conclusion – the things they were hunting had jumped his baby brother and he needed help. But, though Sam's shout had been full of urgency, there had been no pain, no fear.  
He emerged into a scene he could never have predicted.

Sam was kneeling on the ground, leaning over a prone form. The body was laid out hazardously, as if it had been kicking and twisting madly just seconds before. That wasn't what drew Dean's eye though, or why Sam had shouted; That was the large golden wings stretched out away from the still body, the feathers frayed and stained crimson in places.

~~

Back at their current motel, a dirty run down place, the brothers contemplated what to do with the angel. Their hunt was temporarily forgotten in the face of the emergency, especially as Gabriel had not even stirred once when they had lifted him off the forest floor, nor during the car drive back to the motel.   
The archangel in question was laid out on Dean's bed, completely still. If it wasn't for his steady breathing they would have thought him dead, but as it was he simply wouldn't wake. His wings – which had been incredibly difficult to hide from the motel receptionist as they bundled him through to their room – lay to either side of him, taking up all the bed and much of the floor. It was clear that they were normally a beautiful vibrant honey-gold flecked with darker shades of brown, but at that moment they were ragged and faded, many feathers twisted or missing entirely. One wing seemed to be broken in multiple places, bent at an angle where it hit the floor that was just wrong.  
Sam slowly moved to the side of the bed, near Gabriel's head, and looked down at him worriedly. “Why hasn't he woken yet? And why hasn't that healed?” He gestured to the wing, gazing at it with concern.   
“I don't know Sammy, I'm more concerned with how he's even alive.” Dean scowled, thoughts clearly on the hundred or so times Gabriel had killed him – even if he didn't actually remember. Still, he'd caused huge distress to Sam, and that was hard to forgive. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to insult the archangel, not when he was so badly hurt and Sam so concerned for him.  
“Does it matter right now? The man is injured, surely that's more important than how he survived?” Sam frowned at his brother, looking back down at Gabriel and noting how his eyes were darting about beneath the lids. Dreaming, then. “We can't really do anything for him till he wakes, though. I don't know anything about wing structure, don't want to risk causing more damage...”  
Dean half heartedly grumbled about being driven out of his own bed, but let it go – after all, Sam was right. Gabriel had to be seriously hurt to be unconscious as he was, and the wing injuries looked painful. He shook his head and moved across the room, throwing himself down on Sam's bed instead. Sam protested for a few moments, but gave in when Dean merely threw a pillow at him. “Your patient is on my bed and I'm not sleeping on the floor again.”  
Sam shrugged at that, sitting down at the other end of the bed, shoving his brothers feet sideways to make space. “Don't take up the whole bed then, jerk. It's only till he's better.”  
“Yea, however long that takes. Bitch.”

~~

A few hours later, when the night had set in completely and the room was illuminated only by the single digital clock between the beds, the occupant of the other bed stirred. He let out a quiet groan of pain, but did not yet wake. He dreamed on, as his dreams turned from memory into outright nightmare. He desperately hurt all over in his nightmares, as his brothers faces swam before his eyes, laughing and taunting him. Lucifer held a blade to him, Michael watching on impassively. Gabriel shied back, and, unknowing to him whilst he dreamt, he groaned again, turning his head to one side. On the other bed, Sam lay wide awake, staring over at the injured archangel's face when it turned toward him. He held his breath, staring straight into Gabriel's open eyes – but the angel still unconscious.


	2. Awake, My dear.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel awakes, but he isn't quite the same as the archangel the Winchesters remember.

Gabriel slept for 2 days.

In that time, Dean grew thoroughly bored of the motel room, and was now spending more time out in bars and diners. He and Sam had taken care of the hunt, originally interrupted by Gabriel's unexpected appearance. So, that left Dean with very little to do – unlike Sam, who was content to sit by Gabriel and quietly read. Every now and then he would glance over at the unconscious archangel regularly as if afraid he would vanish while Sam wasn't looking.  


And even if Sam had his head buried in a book almost constantly while he kept Gabriel company should he wake... Well, he still couldn't help but notice that Dean hadn't picked up a girl once – Or that Castiel was accompanying him out quite regularly.

On the third day, Gabriel woke.

Dean had once again left the motel in favour of a bar, Castiel in tow. Sam had only gone for a quick bathroom break when Gabriel woke.  
Honey gold eyes opened, took in the room blearily. It took a few minutes before it registered that he didn't know this place, then he kicked the blankets off. Instead, he succeeded only in tangling his legs in them in his surging panic. The room blurred and wavered sickeningly, then he was falling sideways off the bed.  


He landed hard and cried out, broken wing crushed beneath his body. A nauseous wave of pain washed through him from his wing, bringing tears to his eyes. The room threatened to fade from view entirely, darkness seeping in at the edges of his vision. He heard a door open, but couldn't react.

Sam had been washing his hands when he'd heard the thump. It was obviously something hitting the floor. In the same room as Gabriel. That either meant the archangel was awake – or something was in there with him. While he was vulnerable.  


The instant his mind reached the conclusion Gabriel, danger, he turned the tap off and hurriedly dried his hands off. He opened the door warily, peering through for anything that shouldn't be there -at the same time looking for the nearest weapon.  
Then he saw him.  
Gabriel, on the ground.  


He took a few careful steps forward, still wary of attack, before he realised what he was seeing.  
Gabriel's eyes were open, albeit screwed up in pain – and his wing trapped beneath him. Sam uttered a quiet “Shit!” as he abandoned caution and rushed to the archangel's side.  


He stopped a few steps away when Gabriel started to struggle, dropping to his knees and reaching a hand out.  
Gabriel ignored the pain screaming through his body, gasping and desperate to get away from this new threat. He made quiet grunts of pain as he moved, the jarring movements making the pain in his wing worsen.  
“Gabriel, stop! You're going to really hurt yourself!” Sam watched on as Gabriel continued his struggles, feeling utterly helpless at that moment. The archangel was clearly in horrible pain, but he refused to still.  


When Sam had still made no obvious move to hurt him five minutes later, Gabriel stilled. He eyed the human warily, no recognition in his expression.  
“Gabriel?” Sam murmured quietly, inching a hand toward him slowly. He stilled again when Gabriel eyed his fingers warily, acting for all the world like a wild animal. Gabriel watched through narrowed eyes as Sam shifted forwards on his knees and tentatively reached his hand forward again, touching the angels forehead gently. “We should get you off that wing, Gabe. And back into the bed...”  


Gabriel went cross-eyed trying to watch Sam's hand still, and Sam smiled a little sadly. “You ready?” He didn't give Gabriel time to flinch away, winding his other arm underneath the smaller man's body and lifting him up in one fluid motion. Gabriel panicked and twisted around in Sam's grip, clawing at his face and neck painfully with his nails and making high pitched whines. Despite the pain he was causing, Sam lowered him as gently as possible to the bed and released him, backing off as soon as he did so. Gabriel scooted up against the headboard, curling in on himself and hiding his face behind his good wing.  


Sam settled down to watch him carefully, guilt pulling at his heart at the state Gabriel was in – after he'd helped them, he deserved better. It was pitiful, really, to see the once powerful and proud archangel reduced to little more than a scared animal.  


He was startled out of his morose thoughts when a small hand plucked at his sleeve, and he focused again to find Gabriel in front of him. “Hey, Gabe. You want something?” He offered a small smile, and though he received only a wary stare in return he counted it as a success – after all, the angel had come to him willingly. Gabriel's stomach growled loudly, and Sam really did smile. “I think candy won't cut it this time, Gabe.” He slid off the bed and stretched, moving away to rustle through what little food supplies they had in the motel room. “Sorry, there isn't much here, you're gonna have to make do.” He pulled an apologetic face, turning back with a slice of bread and offering it to Gabriel. 

And of course, it was at that moment that Dean decided to come back to the room.  
The door swung open with no warning, Dean striding in with a smile on his face, laughter evident in his eyes. Castiel followed behind him, closing the door quietly – but the damage was already done. Their loud entrance had startled Gabriel, and he was once again on the floor. This time he had managed to control his fall and land on all fours, and he had immediately scooted underneath the bed. Sam ducked down to peer under at him, and could make out his small trembling form in the gloom. He sighed and sat up again, putting the plate down on the bed. “Dean...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, un beta'd so there may be mistakes! Also unsure if the characters are ic, so if they're not please let me know! :)


	3. Hide-away

In the days that followed, Gabriel remained beneath the bed.

 

The two human brothers had gone out to investigate a potential case that sounded strongly like vengeful spirit activity in the town centre, leaving Castiel to watch over his feral brother. When they had returned several hours later, it had been to find that Gabriel had created a 'nest' of sorts underneath the bed. He had dragged the ragged quilt from the bed above him and stolen all of the pillows in the room, arranging them as he saw fit out of sight. Dean immediately turned to his brother with an annoyed exclamation upon realising his pillows were gone too, while Castiel stood silently by the window, apologetic expression on his face.

“Dean, leave it. If it makes him feel better, it's a good thing.”

Dean had subsided immediately, muttering something under his breath about 'crazy archangels'.

 

x

 

The next time Sam saw Gabriel, he was once again alone in the room. The angel peeked out from within his makeshift nest, a small hand questing out across the floor for the food that had been left out for him. Sam, relaxing on the bed above him, raised an eyebrow and leaned ever so slightly to the side, peering down at what he could see of the once proud archangel – just his hand, really.

“Gabriel,” He started softly, keeping his voice low and even. Gabriel immediately startled, whipping his hand straight back out of sight and burrowing back in the stolen pillows.

Sam sighed, leaning his head back.

“We're not gonna hurt you, y'know. You can come out.”

The only response he received was a quiet shuffling sound, and then the room was quiet again.

 

x

 

When Gabriel finally emerged, it was to a room devoid of humans. Instead, Castiel sat on the other bed, staring solemnly down at him. “Gabriel.” He acknowledged the archangel in a quiet voice, but said nothing else, content to observe. The older angel merely stared back at him, tucking his wings in closer, before he squirmed out of his nest fully and began exploring the room slowly. He kept to all fours for the most part, scooting himself around and stretching forwards to peer around the beds and what little other furniture the room contained. He was in the process of climbing the single rickety chair in the corner of the room when the door was thrown open carelessly, the brothers returning noisily.

 

On seeing the golden angel out from his hidey spot, the two froze. The angel in question stared back at them, then dropped to the floor and – surprisingly fast, for someone forced to resort to scooting along on their butt – crossed the room, disappearing back under Sam's bed. Dean muttered a quiet curse, but left it at that, instead focusing on the food he'd brought back for himself – plus Castiel, despite the angel's insistence that he required no sustenance. Meanwhile, Sam crossed over to his bed and crouched down, prodding the nest gently. “Gabriel? You want some food? Maybe some candy?” He held out a small chocolate bar, close enough that the angel could almost certainly see it but far enough that he couldn't simply snatch it from within the nest – if he wanted it, he was going to have to come out for it.

 

Sam was almost surprised when he found himself staring at a set of golden brown eyes rather than the faded floral pattern of the old blanket, but he mustered a small smile for the angel. He was not surprised when he got nothing but a blank stare back – until a small body collided with his and he fell backwards off his heels, sitting back heavily with a loud 'oomph' as all the air rushed from his lungs. He recovered quickly, curving one arm around small shoulders loosely. Gabriel seemed content to stay put for the time being, munching on the chocolate bar – which he had unwrapped at the speed of light, so perhaps he was not _entirely_ lost in himself – and snuggling down into the oversized space heater he'd picked for himself. Sam chuckled gently, and the angel in his lap tilted his head, listening. 

“You're weird, Gabriel.”

 


	4. Lollipops and Beer

It went on like that for several more days, the archangel swapping between his nest under the bed and his living heater. Already, the brothers had been in one place longer than they liked. Their case had been long since solved - the suspected vengeful spirit proving to be a particularly nasty poltergeist - and Dean was itching to move on to the next case. Unfortunately for him, they really had no way of transporting the still-feral angel anywhere yet. He was acting 'tamer' now, but he still refused to let anyone near him unless he went to them first.

Finally, after a week of absolutely nothing to do, Dean snapped. He stood from the rickety chair by the window, grabbed his gun and strode across to the room door. "C'mon Cas, let's go find something to do." He gestured to the angel as he reached the door, tucking the gun into his waistband and waiting impatiently. "It's seriously _dull_  in here."  
Castiel rose to follow him without question, a sight that caused a raised eyebrow in Sam, though he said nothing.

When the two had left, he peered down at the currently-nesting-under-the-bed angel and slowly drew a lollipop out from a faded pocket. "Gabriel..." He waved the brightly coloured sweet just out of reach of the bed, low enough that the angel could see. A hand darted out and Sam barely drew his hand back in time to avoid the sweet being snatched away. He chuckled quietly, trying to entice the angel out again. This had been his method of choice for the last few days, and it worked without fail every time. Whether or not the archangel remembered himself, he just could not resist any kind of candy once he spotted it.

It took a few more minutes, but finally the angel crawled out from under the bed and over to Sam, plopping himself down next to him and snatching at the lolly again. Sam held tight to it, forcing the angel to wait until he was actually given the sweet. Once the angel was settled with his treat, Sam shook his head and started talking to him in a soft voice, regardless of whether the angel understood or not.  
"It's like trying to teach a kid manners..." He prodded Gabriel's shoulder gently, and was promptly ignored if only for the angel to shuffle around slightly. "Which is pretty sad, actually. Thinking of what you were like when we first ran into you, when we tried to hunt you. Seeing this hurts in a way, even after all the shit you put me through before. I mean, you went about it -terribly-, but you were trying to help. Sort of... I think."  
Sam leaned back, unaware that he now had the angels attention again - the sweet crunched into oblivion already, bright wrapper cast aside carelessly.  
"Y'know, I almost wouldn't be surprised if this was all some elaborate prank and you're actually totally aware of what's going on." He mused quietly, sparing a glance at the angel only to be surprised when his gaze met Gabriel's. "...Uh... It's not, right?" He added, slightly suspicious now.  
The only response he recieved was a yawn, Gabriel fluffing up his wings.. And starting to preen himself. His broken wing had healed nicely, angelic powers recovering at a decent speed. Sadly, his mind had not shown signs of recovering so far.. But then, what did he know of how archangel minds worked?

X

  
Meanwhile, upon leaving the motel Dean had promptly found an active bar and had settled right in. Castiel stood awkward beside him, entirely too stiff and unsure of the surroundings. Dean snorted and gestured for him to at least sit, throwing down a few notes and calling an order over to the bar staff. "Sit, Cas. It's just a bar and they're just people." He didn't spare a look at the angel, instead scoping out the place - not unlike when on a hunt, but in this case he was simply noting where all the women that caught his eye were at. Even though this was perfectly normal behaviour for him when in a bar, he couldn't help feel a slight twinge of guilt. Cas...  
He shook that thought off, giving a charming smile to the lady behind the bar. "Hey."

Behind him, Castiel watched silently. He could pretend he didn't care - stoic came naturally to angels, after all - but he couldn't truthfully say that he was enjoying watching Dean flirt with the barstaff, and he couldn't claim he wasn't even the slightest bit pleased when she answered in a clipped tone and moved on to the next patron, clearly used to the flirting. Dean shrugged it off with ease, raising his bottle to his lips and taking a short gulp. He glanced at Castiel when he lowered it again, shifting awkwardly. "So, what do you think is up with your brother?" He asked roughly, as if he didn't much care really.  
"I do not know for sure" Cas answered honestly, gazing straight at him in a way Dean found most disconcerting. "I cannot say I have seen an angel act like this, let alone an Archangel." He kept up the stare, either unaware of how long the eye contact had gone on for or not caring either way.  
"The only thing to do is to wait and see. Perhaps he will come to his senses soon." He added, as if to reassure the disgruntled hunter. Dean merely snorted in reply, taking another gulp of his drink."Like the crazy bastard had any senses in the first place."  
"He is smarter than you give him credit for, Dean." Cas responded quietly, his words almost lost to the hubbub of the bar. Dean caught them, leaning forwards slightly to hear, and gave a half shrug.  
"Sure, he's not stupid. And I can't very well toss him out after what he did for us, no matter how much I might want to knowing what he put Sammy through. But Sam wants to help him recover, so until he starts trusting us more we're going nowhere."  
"You have a problem with that." Castiel stated in a calm tone, an observation rather than a question.  
"Well, yea! We're hunters, Cas. We should be out there, hunting things before they kill people. Instead we're babysitting an archangel."  
"I am sure Gabriel will be very grateful."  
"I don't give a damn about his gratitude." Dean leaned back again, frowning. "So long as he causes us no more trouble."  
Castiel bowed his head slightly, resolving to remain quiet and lapsing back into staring again, unnoticed for the time being. At least, by Dean - other patrons of the bar had noticed the pair and their prolonged gazes, how closely Castiel tended to stand and how uncomfortable he looked in the bar. Dean leaned forwards, resting his arms on the bar and taking his time with his drink, resuming his flirting - albeit half heartedly.

XxX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm an awful person I know. I didn't realise this hadn't been updated since 2014... that was a bit of a kick up the backside for sure!  
> I so intend to finish these, and I've set my sister as my hassler to write some fic every Sunday. Hopefully for all four active fics, but some of them might be a little slower than others.


End file.
